September 22, 2005

We're taking the youth group away this weekend to Buckden Towers, about 30 miles north of Stevenage, just off the A1(M). This will be my 5th weekend there, but first with this group of young people. We're doing it because we have several new members since september and thought this would be a good way of re-establishing the group's identity. We're planning it as a mini-retreat. For the first time since I brought it, we're going to try some of the ideas from tune in, chill out. I'm hoping the young people will gets lots out of it. They are mostly churched people, but are at that age 11-16 of being active and loud, so it will be interesting to see how the quieter stuff we've got planned works. Trying to find time to do everything that needs to be done, including planning what I'm going to say Saturday evening. I think I'm going to do something on the parable of the sower, but have also been listening to some old greenbelt mike yaconelli tapes.

September 16, 2005

There's a book being written online called anewkindofconversation. Basically several people are writing chapters and then anyone is invited to comment on them. The comments may then appear in the book when it is published later. Brian McLaren's chapter on spiritual formation went online yesterday and makes some good points. He says spiritual growth and health = knowledge + experiences + relationships + practices + suffering + service + time. I particularly like his points on 'practices' and 'suffering'. He says

The monastic tradition offers a new repetoire of practices whose function
is not in acquiring knowledge but rather in acquiring mastery of the
self. For example, fasting masters appetites and impulses. Contemplation and meditation master attention. Silence and solitude master pride. Simplicity, generosity, and hospitality master greed. But these practices do more than master the self: they
also develop faculties much as exercise develops muscles –
concentration, discernment, awareness of the presence of God, humility,
and so on.

But in spiritual formation, experiences of suffering are seen as essential to the development of virtue. For example, without suffering fear, there is no courage. Without suffering annoyance, there is no longsuffering or forbearance. Without suffering injury, there is no mercy or forgiveness.

Spiritual formation is much needed in our churches. It is not something which can be found through attending a course or reading a book. It is the life-long journey with God, with his church, and with his world.

September 14, 2005

Last night was the second episode in the No Sex Please, We're Teenagers series on BBC2 and like the first it revealed a lot about doing youthwork. It began with the British young people completing their visit to the USA by attending a Silver Ring Thing event. This appeared to be the typical big light show with a message that was black or white, which stirs the emotions and convicts the conscience. Yes, many of the young people took the ring, but I wonder how much it was the hype of the event. The whole USA visit was markedly different to how the two youthworkers had been working with the young people - and they both acknowledge this and voiced some concerns.

The other interesting thing was to observe that when something works well our immediate reaction is to try and grow it. The introduction of other people into the group was never going to work, because the original 12 had formed an identity and support group together through the journey they had taken. This journey immediately created a membership which new people could not share because they had travelled together. Group identity in youthwork is so important and although we should try and resist the exclusivity that young people create in their groups, we must realise the strength of that identity. With the small group we run, we've just had 5-6 or new faces join (through them reaching secondary school-age) and its not all smooth. We're going away for a weekend to re-establish the group identity and hopefully help the new guys feel like they belong and the others more comfortable with having new people in their space.

The programme shows that talking about sex and relationships can transform young people's views and ideas about the importance and place of sex. It was great to see them go and talk to class of public school children so confidently. The trailer for next week (in what I think is the final episode) suggested that not all of 12 young people kept the no sex for 5 months promise, which if it is the case shouldn't take away from the strengths of what the youthworkers have achieved. Hopefully the programme will act as a wake-up call to the government, schools and churches to get their act together over sex education.

September 13, 2005

If you're a serious Colin Gunton fan, there's a blog been set up recently called the guntonresearchblog as a means of discussing his work. It's quite new, so it's not yet really got going. It's been set up by a postgraduate at the university of Aberdeen, who's doing his PhD under John Webster, provisionally titled 'The Difference the Trinity Makes: Colin Gunton's Systematic Theology. It's great to see Colin's work been discussed and written about.

September 09, 2005

Do we cultivate wisdom? Do we seek wisdom? Do we educate for wisdom? (I fear rarely in our schools and in our churches) We're happy to provide neat little packages of information, but not the wisdom to engage with it. What about youth workers?

David Ford writes in The Shape of Living (1997)

'wisdom is best learnt face to face by apprenticeship to those who have themselves learnt it the same way ... The wise see us in our potential ... They open us up, inspire us, energize us, allow us to blossom, and give us a sense there is always more' (69-70)

Do our young people learn wisdom from us? Are we wise? What does it mean to be wise? Do we inspire, energize, allow to blossom the young lives in our care? If we do not seek wisdom, if we do not have a wise faith are we in danger of selling our young people short?

Ford goes on to say, 'we see an educational system drowning in information, knowledge and skills, and rarely even attending to the question: how can we learn and teach wisdom?' (72). Are we able to open up the scriptures, to see the Word of God inspire and energize and give a sense there is always more? Or do we provide a closed reading, neatly boxed, which offers a small and uninspiring picture of God?

I think we shy away from theological wisdom. We don't like to the hard work of becoming wise. We don't place ourselves in those relationships with the wise. We become theologically-shallow and -narrow. We end up resorting to speaking about God in loud voice (with light shows and fast-paced entertainment) because God is so small for us.

September 06, 2005

This is a new BBC2 documentary where 12 teenagers pledge not to have sex of any kind for five months by two Christian youthworkers. This was a well-made and interesting program, looking at the issue of sex among teenagers, well until the trip to America! I thought the two youthworkers went around the issues well, were upfront about their faith, but not over-prescriptive (typical British style youthwork) - the teenagers involved were definitely thinking about the questions in a new light.

The contrast with the youthwork scene in America was revealing. Indoctrination and bible-bashing appeared to prevalent - American Christian teenagers kept referring to the Bible, but you wonder if they could point to any texts. There was also a false belief that sex on their wedding night was going to be this wonderful thing - when most of the British teenagers revealed that the first time is often not a wonderful time! Putting the British teenagers into this environment seemed to be damaging some of the good work that had been going on back in the UK. Three of the girls were very obviously uncomfortable with the charismatic youth service they were invited to attend. This made clear how strange church services must be to young people outside of the church. One girl said, church in the UK is just about saying prayers, not singing! The American 'youth pastor' was unable to dialogue or listen to the young people, in complete contrast to the British youth workers, who kept stressing that the teenagers were free to choose and believe what they like.

Another point that emerged was the whole 'no sex before/outside of marriage' message has no (moral) weight with a generation that disbelieves in the idea of marriage. Where getting married seems pointless, apart from having the dream wedding day and relationships are finite, the message goes unheard. It made clear again to me, that the debate is not about sex, but about marriage. There is a need for the church to re-establish the place and point of marriage in our culture - give it meaning. What does a marriage provide that living together does not? Why is sex best within a marriage?

I think its sad that the only option we have is to speak about having safe sex, that avoiding sex until marriage or at least later in life, is not a message we communicate in schools and youth clubs. The safe sex message seems to be resigned to the fact that young people will be having sex probably at some point between 12-18 yrs old. I would like to more work done on talking about relationships, on why its better to wait - I'm not advocating a 'true love waits' message - just that sex is complicated and actually requires a maturity. I would like to see a better discussion of the validity of marriage.

Next week, they're still in America and go to a 'silver ring' event - you saw a clip of the youth pastor saying if would pay for their rings, if the teenagers signed-up! BBC2, Tuesday 9pm. I'll post more next week.